Washington: More than 100 countries will be represented today and tomorrow at the Summit for Democracy virtual conference sponsored by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, in what his critics consider a risky bet, Prensa Latina publishes.
The meeting is appreciated as an attempt to push the confrontation with China and Russia, nations with legitimately elected governments that Washington accuses of violating human rights.
According to The Hill, the White House effort also seeks to revitalize America’s image as a healthy democracy, somewhat clouded by the mob attack on Capitol Hill on January 6.
In recent weeks criticism rained against Biden for the call and even local politicians said that the president undermines what he wants to promote.
Biden, who promised during his campaign that he would host the event in his first year in office, is scheduled to make remarks both today and Friday during the Summit.
He draws attention that since the launch of the invitations, one was sent to Taiwan, which was seen as a provocation, since that island is part of mainland China and Beijing claims its sovereignty.
He also highlights that countries like Hungary and Turkey were not invited to attend due to doubts about the health of democracy within their borders, something on which the US government claims the right to judge and rate.
According to reports, the Biden administration is expected to tackle an initiative to bring together groups of countries to work on electoral integrity, although there are doubts that the Americans can be a reference after a tumultuous elections in 2020, in which the candidate still defeated he says the presidency was stolen from him.
Also, within the framework of the Summit, the US Congress was unable to pass a law this year to protect the right to vote, especially due to opposition from Republican sectors.
It is essential that Biden acknowledge America’s own imperfections in order to have credibility in tackling these issues, said Ryan Hass, senior fellow in the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution.
This week, former Texas Republican legislator Ron Paul criticized the event, saying that “in trying to mask our own performance and incite other countries to improve theirs, I think our efforts would be pretty hollow.”
He noted that “none of the sycophantic foreign leaders graced with an invitation to the banquet dares to point out that Washington is dedicated to undermining democracy abroad, not promoting it.”
The also former presidential candidate for the American Libertarian Party asked: Democracy Summit? and replied, ?More like a propaganda summit. What a joke!